Marlissa

What is Marlissa?

Marlissa is a birth control pill that offers over 99% protection from pregnancy . It’s a combined birth control pill, which means it contains two active ingredients, an estrogen and a progesterone hormone. These work by stopping you from ovulating and altering your menstrual cycle. Some women find it also helps them have more regular and lighter periods.

The same dose and hormone formulation in Marlissa is used in other pills too, like Levora, Nordette and Seasonale. So if you’ve used these pills before and they worked well for you, it’s likely Marlissa will work well too.

Even though Marlissa is very effective if you use it exactly right, it’s slightly less effective if you make a mistake while taking it. So it’s advised to follow the instructions with it to help make sure it’s as effective as possible.

Is there more than one dose of Marlissa?

Marlissa is only available in one dosage, which is 1.5mg/30mcg. You can get other pills that have the same hormones but with a lower level of estrogen, like Lutera or Aviane. If you take Marlissa but get side effects from it, your doctor might recommend one of these pills instead. 

On the other hand, if you have issues tolerating Marlissa, you can try the mini pill, which doesn’t contain estrogen.

How does Marlissa work?

The contraceptive pill works in three ways to make pregnancy less likely.

The main way is by stopping your body from ovulating. If you don’t ovulate, then you don’t produce an egg to be fertilized by sperm. Something else the pill does is stops your uterine lining from layering up, so it can’t harbor an egg when it has been fertilized. Also, the hormones in the pill make your cervical fluid thicker, and this makes it much more difficult for sperm to swim through.

How to take Marlissa

The instructions for Marlissa are easy to follow and should become second nature after a while. Each strip of Marlissa pills is marked with the days of the week to help you keep track of what you’ve taken. You should take Marlissa at the same time each day to get the most out of it.

• There are 21 active pills and 7 inactive pills in each pack.
• You’ll take one a day and move on to the next pack.
• Each tablet should be swallowed whole, preferably with water.
• It’s recommended that you take it alongside something you do at the same time every day, such as just before bed or with breakfast.

When to start Marlissa

How long Marlissa takes to work depends on when you start taking it. If you start your birth control within the first five days of your period starting, you’ll be immediately protected against pregnancy.  If you start your birth control and it’s been more than five days since your period started, or you start mid-cycle, you’ll need to use a barrier method of contraception for seven days; you'll also likely have irregular bleeding. At the end of the 28 day pack, you’ll immediately start the next pack without any breaks. If you’ve taken a different combined contraceptive up until the first day of switching to Marlissa tablets, you should immediately start your first pack of Marlissa without any breaks.

What to do about a missed pill on Marlissa

It’s ideal to take Marlissa at the same time each day, but Marlissa can be taken up to 12 hours after your usual time and you will still be more than 99% protected against pregnancy. After 12 hours, it counts as a missed pill, and you will need to take extra contraceptive measures, such as using a condom for seven days. Take your most recent forgotten pill as soon as you remember, and then the next one at the normal time, even if it means taking two pills on the same day. If your missed Marlissa pill is towards the end of your cycle, you may be advised to skip your seven days of inactive pillsand start your next pack right away.